Occupation · SOC 23-1011

Lawyers: H-1B salaries and wage levels

Level IV starts anywhere from $274,643 to $296,858 depending on the city. The median offer is $225,000.

2,393certified H-1B LCAs, Jul 2025 to Jun 2026

$225,000median offer

$158k to $270kmiddle half of offers

17%of new-employment offers reach Level IV for their area

Source U.S. Dept. of Labor, OFLC disclosure files Covers decisions Jul 2025 to Jun 2026 Release FY2026 Q3, published Aug 7, 2026 Wage levels OFLC 2026-27

Wage levels by city

same scale for every row · black mark: median offer in that city

New York, NY

IV $283k

San Francisco, CA

IV $297k

Washington, DC

IV $275k

under Level ILevel IIIIIIIV and upmedian offerscale $96k to $312k

City	LCAs	Median	Level I	Level II	Level III	Level IV
New York, NY	1,197	$230,500	$106,662	$165,464	$224,245	$283,046
San Francisco, CA	111	$241,000	$115,648	$176,051	$236,454	$296,858
Washington, DC	100	$225,000	$129,605	$177,944	$226,304	$274,643

What employers offer

2,393 certified LCAs, coloured by the level each salary reaches in its own area

$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k

Level IIIIIIIVunder Level I = 20 LCAs = 25 LCAs

Lottery entries

1,072 new-employment LCAs

Lawyers 13%22%41%17% 1,072

All employers 12%28%25%18%16% 149,984

1 entry · Level I2 · Level II3 · Level III4 · Level IVunder Level I, still 1 entry

How this is calculated

New-employment H-1B LCAs only, the filings behind most cap petitions; extensions, transfers and amendments do not go through the lottery, and cap-exempt universities and nonprofit research organizations are left out. Each offered salary (low end of the range) is compared with the OFLC Level I to IV wages for its occupation and worksite area, wage year 2026-27; a filing with several worksites counts at its lowest level, as the rule requires. Numbers on the right are LCAs. Full methodology.

Over time

fiscal years, October to September · hatched: year to date

Certified H-1B LCAs

2,055 FY2026 to date

1.5kFY23

1.8kFY24

2.3kFY25

2.1kFY26

Median offer

$225,000 FY2026

$215kFY23

$215kFY24

$225kFY25

$225kFY26

Top employers

Jul 2025 to Jun 2026

#	Employer	Certified LCAs	Median salary
1	Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP	78	$225,000
2	Latham & Watkins LLP	76	$283,500
3	Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP	70	$235,000
4	White & Case LLP	69	$242,500
5	Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP	51	$235,000
6	Sullivan & Cromwell LLP	51	$225,000
7	Kirkland & Ellis LLP	45	$310,000
8	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP	38	$260,000
9	Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP	36	$310,000
10	Sidley Austin (US) LLP	33	$235,000
11	Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP	33	$225,000
12	Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP	32	$225,000
13	Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP	31	$215,530
14	Covington & Burling LLP	28	$260,000
15	Cooley LLP	27	$310,000
16	Goodwin Procter LLP	25	$260,000
17	Mayer Brown LLP	25	$260,000
18	Linklaters LLP	24	$260,000
19	Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP	22	$285,000
20	Dechert LLP	21	$235,000
21	Clifford Chance US LLP	20	$222,500
22	Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP	20	$350,000
23	Milbank LLP	20	$365,000
24	Ropes & Gray LLP	20	$310,000
25	Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan	19	$225,000
	All other employers	1,479	–